Episode No. 3 mini-recap: 'The Ultimate Fighter: Australia vs. UK'

The show, also dubbed “TUF: The Smashes,” features Australian fighter George Sotiropoulos and the U.K.’s Ross Pearson as head coaches of their country’s respective teams, which feature a total of eight lightweights and eight welterweights. They compete in a pair of single-elimination tournaments during the series, which concludes at UFC on FX 6 on Dec. 15.

FX airs the show in Australia, and ESPN carries the show in the U.K. It’s available online at aus.tuf.tv for the rest of the world beginning Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT).

Here are the highlights from episode No. 3:

• Team UK offers a bit of an olive branch to Team Australia’s Ben Wall after his gritty effort in the previous episode’s elimination fight.

• After Team UK defaced a poster of Team Australia coach Sotirpoulos, the Aussies decided to return the favor by cutting the bikini-clad body off of Arianny Celeste’s poster in the house and placing it on the image of Team UK coach Pearson. It’s not exactly high-level pranking, but the team spends several hours on crafting a perfect look. Pearson has a laugh at the effort, but the rest of Team UK finds the effort subpar and promises retribution.

• With control of the fight selection, Team UK has control of selecting a fight in the welterweight division. Pearson takes his team’s Luke Newman against Team Australia’s Robert Whittaker. Pearson accidentally calls Whitaker “Richard,” which his opponent’s seem to believe shows he’s not exactly aware of who he’s selecting.

• Pearson puts Sotiropoulos on the spot to ask if he’ll be supporting an American Top Team teammate in Newman or his countryman in Whittaker. Sotiropoulos does hesitate slightly before selecting Whittaker, and Pearson feels like he may have driven a little wedge between his opposing coach and his squad.

• Team UK’s Colin Fletcher is a bit bored, so he constructs a helmet made out of household supplies. It’s something that only a man nicknamed “Freakshow” would create.

• Newman is nine pounds over on the day of weigh-ins despite being just seven pounds over the day before. His Team UK teammate Bola Omoyele reveals Newman had a few sips of coconut water. The team supposes it was much more than that, and Newman has some work to do.

• Whittaker hits 170.5 pounds official weigh-ins. Newman is 170.5 pounds, as well, so the fight is set.

• Back at the house, the fighters are bored, and so they set up a challenge. It’s a rematch between Fletcher and Wall, but this time it’s a wasabi challenge. But it’s not simple consumption. They’re going to snort it. Fletcher starts it out by snorting three lines of the spicy condiment. Wall follows suit, and both fighters are in tears. But they continue the challenge with additional sauces. Wall ends up vomiting, but the teams seem in good spirits – except for Wall and Fletcher, who are shoving water and ice cubes in their nose.

• It’s finally time to fight. Newman comes out firing heavy leather, and a few of the shots seem to connect. He looks to swarm, but Whittaker somehow pulls away and resets. As he does, both throw heavy hands, and it’s a Whittaker right that connects first to the chin. Knockout victory for the Aussie.

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